Portfolio Officer

Job Title:  Portfolio Officer
Contract Type: Permanent
Salary: £31,302.63 per annum 
Working Hours: Full Time – 37.5 Hours per week
Working Pattern: Monday to Friday
Location: North Shields, North Tyneside

If you share our values and are excited about making a significant impact at Riverside, please ensure you attach a current CV and covering letter. At Riverside we recruit to potential not just on skills and experience, so we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all the essential criteria on the job description.

Please note that whilst we will accept applications on the basis of any form of valid legal permission to work in the UK, we will be surrendering the Riverside Sponsorship licence, so for the avoidance of doubt, we are unable to apply for any further sponsorships whether on behalf of existing colleagues or candidates.

The difference you will make as a Portfolio Officer
To deliver effective housing management services and act as an ‘account manager’ for third parties relationships (such as Managed agents, Care or Support providers and Local Authorities), ensuring effective services are delivered to customers within a designated patch.  Delivered in an agile manner, through flexible, self-led and resourceful processes that enables putting customer first.

About you
We are looking for someone with:
•    Proven track record of delivering a high quality customer service function, preferably in the housing sector. 
•    Effective stakeholder management, both internally and external to the organisation, including the ability to successfully persuade and influence others. 
•    Customer focused with excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to work at all levels within the business. 
•    Proven track record of delivering a high quality customer care service including complex needs customers. 
•    Proven track record of successfully solving difficult problems. 
•    Proficient use of a range of IT packages including Microsoft Office. 

Why Riverside?
At Riverside, we’re a housing association with a difference – enhancing the everyday for all our customers. For 90 years, we’ve been revitalising neighbourhoods and supporting communities by providing the homes they need to live full, fulfilling and rewarding lives. 
We have a portfolio of over 75,000 affordable residential and retirement homes across the UK. Our work ranges from homelessness services to social care, employment support to retirement living, and we need the best people on board to help us.
Working with us, you’ll enjoy:
•    Competitive pay & generous pension 
•    25 days holidays plus bank holidays (pro rata) *delete for Full Time
•    Investment in your learning, personal development and technology
•    A wide range of benefits 

Diversity and Inclusion at Riverside: 
We are inclusive. At Riverside, we value diversity in all its forms. We foster a workplace where all individuals are respected, empowered, and heard. Our commitment to inclusivity drives our success and enriches the lives of our customers and colleagues. 
Riverside is a Disability Confident Employer and operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for any applicant who declares they have a disability. If the applicant meets the minimum requirements for the role (as set out in the role profile and/or person specification) they will be guaranteed an interview.

Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to be considered.

Role Profile 
Housing service delivery:
•    Directly deliver a range of housing services to specific properties within a designated patch including allocations and lettings and income collection. 
•    Accountable for patch profitability, minimising void rent loss, identify cash leakage, working in partnership with colleagues to carry out inspections, property viewings and managing tenancy sign ups and new tenancy visits. 
•    Working in partnership with the Income and Processing Officer, Portfolio Officers will be responsible for and maximisation activities, signposting for advice and carrying out home visits during arrears pursuance processes.  
•    Commission, direct and influence other teams including third parties as appropriate to resolve low level anti-social behaviour issues, hate crimes, and issues impacting community cohesion, escalating complex cases as appropriate. 
•    Work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders to deliver customer involvement objectives and stakeholder management within a specified area, attending community meetings where relevant to the Group and its customers. 
•    Build effective and strong relationships with customers where we directly deliver housing services, identifying needs and aspirations, provide targeted housing support and use of customer intelligence to drive tenancy sustainability.  
•    Provide clear, supportive and accurate housing advice to customers, colleagues and other stakeholders, including signposting where appropriate, to ensure awareness of the service and the effective progression and resolution of cases. 
•    Act as an advocate for customers, both internally and externally where appropriate to ensure their expectations are maintained and they are receiving the appropriate levels of service. Account Management.  
•    Act as the key point of contact for local Managed Agents, responding to enquiries and complaints and identifying opportunities for improvements. Escalating to the Portfolio Manager as appropriate.  
•    Undertake any local activities pertaining to leases, management agreements and Service Level Agreements in a patch which includes, supporting regular performance reviews, embedding effective third party arrangements and ensuring services adhere to industry and Group quality and performance standards. 
•    Build relationships with local internal and external stakeholders in order to foster partnership working to deliver improvement. 
Service delivery:
•    Contribute to the continuous improvement of processes and procedures. 
•    Contribute and deliver regular reviews of the Managed Agents service, seeking feedback from internal and external stakeholders, to identify efficiencies and continually improve customer satisfaction and the overall service provision. Improvement opportunities identified and realised should be in accordance with change management protocols.
•    Ensure internal business processes are followed in line with the Group’s policy, procedures and statutory requirements. 
•    Undertake any local activities required relating to the on-boarding or decant of Managed Agents within the patch. Escalate issues to the Portfolio Manager where appropriate and manage expectations when required. 
Budgets and service charge:
•    Responsible for key activities within rent and service charge processes and responsibility for ensuring that service charge is spent in line with both legislation and to customers’ expectations. Feed into the budget process for your specific patch.

Other Duties
•    Accountable for organising your own work, priorities and objectives to meet the organisational goals, with the focus being “self-led” with customers need and requirements at the forefront to improve the areas for which you are responsible for.   
•    Respond flexibly to any necessary changes in work priorities and undertake other duties when required to support the effective operation of the service. 
•    Ensure that all data protection requirements are met in accordance with the Group’s policy, procedures and statutory requirements.
•    Ensure that health and safety requirements are met in accordance with the Group’s policy, procedures and statutory requirements. 
•    Ensure that Safeguarding of individuals is recorded and reported as per the Group policy. 

Additional Information
•    The Group has offices across the UK and on this basis, there may be the requirement to travel to other locations to effectively perform this role. 
•    The role will be exposed to sensitive information; therefore, the role holder is expected to maintain levels of confidentiality at all times.
•    In order to fulfil the requirements of this role, you will be required to work flexibly during the hours of operation. 
•    The role holder is expected to be committed to equal opportunities and to promote non-discriminatory practices in all aspects of work undertaken. 

Person specification
Essential Knowledge & Experience
•    Proven track record of delivering a high quality customer service function, preferably in the housing sector. 
•    Effective stakeholder management, both internally and external to the organisation, including the ability to successfully persuade and influence others. 
•    Customer focused with excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to work at all levels within the business. 
•    Proven track record of delivering a high quality customer care service including complex needs customers. 
•    Excellent attention to detail with the ability to work under pressure, deliver to strict deadlines and manage conflicting priorities. 
•    Proven track record of successfully solving difficult problems. 
•    Proven track record of demonstrating initiative to proven activities. 
•    Ability to remain calm in a pressurised environment. 
•    Proficient use of a range of IT packages including Microsoft Office. 
•    Excellent team player who can work flexibly to meet business requirements. 

Desirable
•    Experience of agile/flexible working. 
•    Experience of inputting into the managing of budgets 
•    Experience of setting work priorities and arrangements, being self-led and working with minimal supervision.